The past couple of weeks have been tough for The Viral Fever (TVF) after alleged accusations of molestation against its founder and CEO Arunabh Kumar. Keeping the situation in mind, it was only appropriate for the entertainment platform to halt the release of their series 'Bisht, Please!'. It was scheduled for a release earlier in March, but was finally released only on March 31.
A text from TVF on March 17 had informed us about the delay. “We have been looking forward to the show for long. The excitement remains the same, but we are rescheduling the release. We also, therefore, apologise for cancelling our ground event on Saturday. We have moved it to a later date and will keep you posted,” said the text.
The 26 minute first episode of the series, with a woman in the lead role, is about her misadventures. It’s ironic that the first release from the platform, when its CEO is facing accusations made by women employees at the firm, revolves around the misadventures of a woman. The trailer even talks of consent.
The co-writer and lead actor Nidhi Bisht, also a core team member at TVF, agreed to do a telephonic conversation with THE WEEK. However, she made it clear in the beginning of the call that, “It was a happy day for her as her show has released and she doesn’t want to talk about anything else". "I only want to talk about my show. Positive things are happening today and I don’t want to talk about anything negative that has happened in the last two-three weeks," she said.
In an earlier conversation with us, Bisht had mentioned that we usually see two extremes of women—“She is either a party girl, or a housewife. 'Bisht, Please!' is more about the real girl and the situations she comes across on a daily basis,” she had said.
When quizzed about what realities she focussed on, she replied ambiguously, “The story is about the realities. Ab aise pin-point karna toh bahot difficult hai (It is very difficult to pin-point).”
On probing further as to how she has taken to the entire situation, she said, “The matter is under investigation. In due course, the reality will come out.”
In the last two days, two women have come forward to lodge FIRs against Arunabh Kumar. The first was lodged at the MIDC police station and the second at Versova. The TVF founder has been booked under IPC section 354 (a) (sexual harassment of the nature of unwelcome physical contact and advances or a demand or request for sexual favours).